ARLINGTON, Texas -- Andre Holmes dropped the first pass that came his way Thursday then held on to everything else -- sometimes in spectacular fashion.

Once property of the Dallas Cowboys, the third-year Raiders wideout exceeded his career totals of catches and yards coming into the game with seven receptions for 136 yards against his old team.

With the Raiders losing 31-24, Holmes wasn't about to do any celebrating. But it did feel good to have former teammates coming over after the game to congratulate him.

"I had a calendar, and I checked it because I wanted to come here and play well in front of the team I played for,'' Holmes said. "It just sucks that we didn't get the win. A lot of guys came over and said, 'Good job.' It felt good, to see all of them and give me support.''

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 28: Matt McGloin #14 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after the Raiders scored against the Dallas Cowboys in the second quarter during a Thanksgiving Day game at AT&T Stadium on November 28, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Holmes, 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, had five career catches for 76 yards coming into the game. He had two catches for 11 yards with Dallas, where he also spent some time on the Cowboys practice squad.

"He's a guy that will go and get the ball for you,'' Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin said. "He's a guy I look forward to try and get the ball to because he does good things when he gets the ball in his hands.''

Holmes was originally ruled to have scored a touchdown early in the second quarter on a 16-yard pass, but the score was overturned when officials ruled he was down at the 1-yard line. Rashad Jennings scored on the next play.

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Left tackle Jared Veldheer, who coach Dennis Allen said would play in a rotation with Khalif Barnes in his first game back following surgery to repair a torn triceps, instead played every snap. Barnes played the entire game at left guard.

"My thought process was to get back for this game and I was going to play the game,'' Veldheer said. "My arm felt good, held up for the whole game. It wasn't an issue. So I think all that arm stuff is in the past.''

Wide receiver Greg Jenkins, promoted from the practice squad before last week's loss to Tennessee, got the Raiders off to a great start when Kaelin Burnett stripped returner Terrance Williams, with Jenkins picking up the loose ball and running 23 yards for a touchdown.

"I saw the ball and my natural reaction was to scoop and score,'' Jenkins said. "Ultimately it's a team game and we lost so it's kind of a sour taste in my mouth, but I want to make plays for the guys and put us in a position to win.''

Jenkins also took over punt return duties from Jacoby Ford, who had more snaps as a receiver. Jenkins had four returns for 42 yards with a long of 14 yards.

Linebacker Kevin Burnett was pointing the finger squarely at himself for a 19-yard pass from Tony Romo to Jason Witten that extended an 87-yard scoring drive that gave the Cowboys a 28-21 lead.

Witten caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage, but Burnett and Brandian Ross overpursued and neither got a hand on him as Witten broke free to the Oakland 42-yard line.

Asked where the game turned, Burnett said, "Me missing that tackle on third down. I have to be a better tackler, to undertand where my help is. And get them on the ground.''

Running back Darren McFadden returned after missing three straight games with a hamstring strain and carried five times for 13 yards and dropped the only pass thrown his way late in the game.

Quartertback Terrelle Pryor was the only active player who didn't play a single snap. Running back Rashad Jennings handled a handful of snaps in the wildcat rather than use Pryor, who arguably is the Raiders' most explosive runner.

Allen said there are plays out of that formation designed for Pryor, but they weren't used.

"There was a point in the first (half) where we almost had a couple of plays (for Terrelle),'' Allen said. "We didn't do it. We had 21 points in the first half, and in the second half, there wasn't a whole lot of opportunities.''